By Hillel Italie, National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin, traveled far during her 42 years. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a promising movie-making career.
Hutchins was shot with a prop gun Thursday on the set of the Western "Rust" near Santa Fe, New Mexico. Court records released Friday indicated that an assistant director handed Baldwin a loaded weapon and told him it was safe to use. Detectives were investigating.
On her Instagram page, Hutchins identified herself as a "restless dreamer" and "adrenaline junkie." In recent days, she posted several images from the set, including an early morning shot of a cloudy desert sky, a video of herself riding horseback during a day off and a photo of the crew gathered to express solidarity with union members. The members of the IATSE union were seeking a new contract and threatened to strike before a settlement was reached last weekend.
According to her website, she grew up on the Soviet base in the Arctic Circle and was "surrounded by reindeer and nuclear submarines." She received a graduate degree in international journalism from Kyiv National University in Ukraine, worked on British documentary productions in Eastern Europe and graduated from the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2015. She is survived by her husband, Matthew Hutchins, with whom she had a son.
"She had an interesting background, and I think that made for a unique perspective on the world," said one of her AFI teachers, Bill Dill. "She brought a wealth of experience to the movie-making process."
In a 2019 interview with American Cinematographer, which named her one of the year's rising stars, she described herself as an "army brat" drawn to movies because "there wasn't that much to do outside." She would document herself parachuting and exploring caves, among other adventures, and through her work with British filmmakers, became "fascinated with storytelling based on real characters."
After moving to the U.S., she took any production-assistant work she could find and explored fashion photography to learn more about the "aesthetics of lighting — how you create the mood, the feeling." In 2013, she was accepted into a two-year program at the AFI Conservatory. The school's chair of cinematography, remembered her dedication to the craft.
"She was very thoughtful about the decision, and it was not an easy decision. All film schools are expensive and this was not an exception," he said. "We were very impressed with her. I remember telling her, 'You're not going to have much time for your family in your first year at AFI.' And she understood that. She was really working hard."
Stephen Pizzello, editor-in-chief and publisher of American Cinematographer and a close friend of Hutchins', said she had not only a "joyful spirit" but a strong sense of how to network in the movie business. She was "tireless in terms of improving her skills and being in the right places," a regular at "industry events and parties."
"Everybody liked her," he said.
Before "Rust," her credits included the crime drama "Blindfire" and the horror film "Darlin," whose director, Pollyanna McIntosh, posted on Instagram that she was "the most talented, in the trenches, committed wonderful artist and team mate." Director Adam Egypt Mortimer, who worked with her on the 2020 thriller "Archenemy," said she had a powerful sense of confidence and an inspiring openness to challenges. He remembered a day on the set when an actor had to leave and the rest of the crew had to work around him.
"Halyna was excited," said Mortimer, who recalled her asking if they would shoot the scenes "European style," meaning that they would improvise.
Cinematographer Andriy Semenyuk, a fellow Ukrainian who met Hutchins a few years ago through friends, remembered how she welcomed him and brought him to some of her assignments. He called her a mentor with a "magnetizing" personality who stood out for her willingness to help others.
"I think the big deal about her in general, beyond being extremely talented — which is a given — is just her generous and really open personality," he said. "In the film industry, which is super competitive, it's not enough to have talent. It's good to have this human, appealing personality."
AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr and AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More